Not Applicable.
This invention relates to the construction industry, specifically to the excavation of the material in confined areas.
Contractors from the beginning of mechanized excavation have looked for ways to excavate earth and material from confined areas and depending on material being excavated have looked for a bucket that would clean out with each scoop so that the excavation could proceed more efficiently.
The original clam buckets worked off of steam driven winches and wire rope cables. This design stayed basically the same until the 1960""s with the advent of hydraulic excavators.
Inventors then began to develop buckets based on the use of hydraulic power. U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,774 to Thomas (1983) discloses an attempt to develop a clam bucket using a single cable run through sheaves. The operating mechanism extends beyond the radius of the bucket limiting the accessible area of the attachment and making the arm susceptible to hanging inside a shored excavation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,735 to Morrow (1991) shows a clam bucket assembly which incorporates an elaborate linkage system, costly to manufacture and maintain. The hydraulic tubes are exposed creating the possibility of breakage sending 180xc2x0 fluid spraying into the atmosphere and/or on to workman. This unit gives no extended reach to work over objects. Also, it has no bucket cleaner. U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,731 to Beaver (1978) demonstrates a clam bucket that does not increase digging depth. The assembly requires extra hydraulics from the host machine and uses an elaborate linkage system to operate the bucket, thus raising the cost to the consumer. This design again has no bucket cleaner. U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,137 to McCain (1974) shows a clam bucket assembly designed with a very elaborate mechanism that is costly to manufacture and maintain and does not increase digging depth or reach and this patent claims no bucket cleaner.
The above referenced buckets suffer from a number of disadvantages:
(a) Expensive and elaborate linkage mechanism. Costly to build and maintain.
(b) All hydraulic requirements use an extra system which has to be added to the host mechanism at an added cost.
(c) None of the previously patented buckets give added reach to work on the far side of obstacles.
(d) None of the previously patented buckets have a self-cleaning bucket which allows the removal of wet and sticky material that becomes trapped in the bucket.
In accordance with the present invention, a clam bucket comprised of a rotational plate, a square tube extension, two (2) hydraulic cylinders operated by standard hydraulic circuitry, and is self-cleaning.
Accordingly, the objects and advantages of my self-cleaning hydraulic clam bucket are:
(a) an hydraulic clam bucket that requires no additional hydraulic circuitry to operate.
(b) extended digging depth.
(c) ability to dig over the top of obstacles and rotate to the needed position.
(d) self-cleaning bucket. The bucket cleans its internal dimension upon each opening cycle, thus removing all types of material which stick and are packed into the bucket upon closing.
(e) no elaborate mechanical linkage to maintain and wear out.
Further objects and advantages of my self-cleaning hydraulic clam bucket will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.